Books And Shelves
by dorkyismymiddlename19
Summary: In which Zexion is working a summer job and Demyx is the customer whom he just can't forget. AU


The first thing Zexion could recall about the day his life started to change was that it had been absolutely miserable. He had just started his first shift working a summer job at his local bookstore. He'd thought that it would be the perfect first job for him, since he was always most at home when he was in a place with lots of books. What he hadn't accounted for, however, was his first day on the job would be one of the worst in his life.

He had the worst headache that he'd ever had in his entire nineteen years of life. It was one of those headaches that whenever he took a step or even moved slightly, a rush of agonizing pain would surge through him and force him to try to stay as still as possible and pray that the pain would go away. He had unceremoniously thrown his work polo over his head and it now rested crookedly on his body and was stuck to him with sweat. His gray sweatpants—decidedly against store policy, but at this point Zexion couldn't bring himself to care—which he normally found comfortable were sticking to his legs and nearly had him banging his head against the counter in front of him in annoyance, which he would have done if he didn't think it would kill him.

He lazily pushed his slate gray bangs away from his sweaty forehead and silently cursed the summer heat. He had propped the door open, hoping that it would provide at least a little relief from the sweltering hot air, but it was a fruitless attempt. It was just one of those days where the heat just couldn't be escaped. It didn't help that the air conditioning was broken either. His only comfort was the mystery book he had taken off the shelf earlier and propped up against his knees to read.

The bookstore was small and quaint, comfortable for a person like Zexion. It didn't have many customers, which Zexion preferred because of his almost nonexistent people skills. He preferred reading or studying over socializing, even with people he was most likely never going to see again.

He grabbed a sticky note off of the counter in front of him and marked his place in the book before slumping over in his seat and resting his face in his hands. His head was full out throbbing now and with every pulse of pure agonizing pain he was scrunching up his face reflexively and trying to will the pain away. The heat seemed to get worse with every passing second and he desperately needed water, but the pain in his head forced him to stay put and he shifted slightly in his seat and grimaced at the way his clothes peeled away from his skin only to stick back immediately. He couldn't hear anything over the pounding of the blood rushing in his ears and his overly loud breaths which is probably why he jumped nearly two feet in the air when someone spoke to him.

"Hey, could you tell me where I could find this book on anthropology?"

Zexion lifted his eyes and froze at the sight in front of him. There stood a boy who looked to be roughly his age, maybe a year or two younger, with aquamarine colored eyes and probably the weirdest hair style Zexion had ever seen. The blonde hair was arranged in sort of a half Mohawk, half mullet style and it was sticking to his forehead with sweat and he seemed slightly out of breath. His features were soft, almost girly and Zexion's eyes were drawn to the slightly small nose and full pink lips of the other boy. He watched as he nervously licked his lips, seeing a flash of silver—a tongue ring?—and then a glimpse of white teeth as the boy let out a nervous chuckle.

"Um… anybody in there?"

"What?" Zexion broke out of his reverie to turn his attention back to what the other boy was saying, almost getting lost in the low tenor but catching himself.

The blonde pushed a piece of paper over the counter as way of explanation and Zexion quickly let his eyes flick over the title before letting himself relax. Books were something he was comfortable with. He recognized this particular volume—he could proudly say that he probably knew almost every book in this store—and was slightly confused as to why a person like the one in front of him would be interested in a book on anthropology.

"Um, yeah I know where this is. Follow me." He met the blonde's eyes for a moment before getting up to walk around the counter—head pounding ridiculously painfully as he did so—and motioned for the other to follow him with a small flick of his hand. As they maneuvered through shelf after shelf of books, the blonde glanced at him curiously.

"How do you find your way around here?" he asked.

Zexion shrugged. "I like books. It's pretty easy once you get used to it. Why are you interested in anthropology?"

"What?" the blonde inquired before remembering the book. "Oh that? I'm just picking this up for my friend Axel, he's taking an anthropology course."

They arrived at the shelf housing the book and Zexion reached up to grab it and cursed his short size when he couldn't reach it.

"Here let me…" the blonde said before reaching up and leaning rather close to Zexion to grab the book and he took in the scent of the other's musky cologne before he leaned back holding the book proudly. Zexion felt his face flush and quickly took a step away from the blonde to try to clear his mind. His red face only made the head in the store intensify and he shifted uncomfortably before turning to walk back to the register. The other followed without a word, although Zexion could tell that he was confused by the slate haired boy's lack of conversation.

Zexion sunk gratefully into his chair behind the counter and reached over to take the book from the blonde's hands and scanned it and typed a few things on his computer.

"10.95," he said shortly. Truthfully, he just wanted the blonde and his distracting looks and smell to leave so he could stop feeling awkward. It would be bad enough if it was someone way younger than him, or even older but this was someone his own age that he could easily embarrass himself in front of. It didn't help that the other boy was the hottest thing he'd ever seen on two legs before.

Zexion shook his head, chastising himself internally. He promised himself that he wouldn't get distracted by attraction in any form. He had been loaded with homework from the college he was about to attend—what kind of college gives you homework _before_ you go to school?—and he couldn't let himself be distracted. It didn't help that the blonde across from him had eyes that seemed to stare straight into him and a small smile on his face that practically made his heart melt. Zexion could still smell that damn cologne wafting off of him enticingly and his headache befuddled mind felt as though he could jump the blonde on the spot, not matter how horrifying the consequences would be. Luckily, he was able to tear his eyes away from the boy when he handed a twenty dollar bill to him and deftly fished out the change and receipt. After he handed them over to the blonde, who he didn't fail to notice was watching him with slightly amused eyes the whole time, he spoke in his low voice that immediately sent shivers down Zexion's spine.

"Thanks, Zexion," he said with a sly wink and Zexion blinked at him which a coaxed a small bubble of laughter from those perfectly shaped lips.

_How did he—_

"Your nametag," the boy elaborated, his voice laced with amusement as Zexion internally slapped himself. _Of course._

"So, maybe I'll see you around sometime," the blonde said with a blinding smile and it was all Zexion could do to nod in affirmation as the boy walked over to the door and out of it and Zexion frowned when he realized that he didn't even know the other boy's name. As if he could read his mind, the blonde popped his head back around the door.

"Oh by the way, my names Demyx," and he winked again—and Zexion's breath caught, although he would deny it later—and then was gone.

And even though his head still hurt and his clothes still clung to his body uncomfortably, Zexion let a small smile cross over his face.

**oOOOo**

He didn't catch a glimpse of Demyx again until about three weeks later. Zexion was perched in his usual chair behind the counter, one leg under him and an arm around the other that was bent up to his chest, his sock clad foot resting on the seat under him. He was wearing sweatpants again—black this time—and his uniform polo rested comfortably on his torso. He sighed contentedly as he turned the page in the book he was reading—another mystery, they were his favorite—and let his eyes flick over the page lazily as he let his mind be taken over by the story.

The air conditioning had been fixed two days prior—thank god—so Zexion could actually say that he was content with his job today. He had had the sense to stop by a Starbucks on the way there, and was now sipping his hot coffee and relishing in the bittersweet flavor and feeling the warmth flood throughout his body pleasantly. All in all, Zexion was having a fairly good day.

The only thing that would make it better, of course, was if Demyx was here to share it with him.

Zexion knew that Demyx was probably only saying that they might see each other again to be polite. He knew that he wasn't being serious and that it was irrational to think that Demyx actually _wanted _to see him again. Still, he had foolishly allowed himself to hope that Demyx would have a reason to want to get to know him and when he didn't show up, he felt disappointed.

He also was starting to grow bored with the constant silence that surrounded him. It used to be what he preferred and what he craved, but now it was just starting to become a nuisance. Dust was starting to accumulate on the overly full bookshelves and the drawer on the cash register was starting to stick closed from lack of use. Zexion soon found himself wishing that this rundown place was more popular, just so that he wouldn't have to see the books on the shelves be neglected day after day.

He quickly let his eyes skim over the last page of the novel in his hands and he set the book down, feeling surprisingly disinterested in the story that he'd just finished. Usually, on a good day, he could sit and ponder a book for hours, twisting the plot forwards and backwards relentlessly, until he felt that he had understood the meaning perfectly and had taken in the details that made it unique. But for some reason, on this particular day, he couldn't seem to focus. His mind was scattered all over the place.

It might have been caused by the impossible summer homework he'd been given. He'd attempted to get started on it the night before but quickly found it impossible, even for him. He was supposed to write a five page essay about the best thing that had ever happened to him. Zexion hadn't even known where to start. Zexion was never a social person and he never really got along with any of the members of his family, so he really had nothing good in his life that he could write about, sad as that was. He wracked his brain for hours to come up with something even remotely good enough to get him started, but found himself unable to think straight.

_It's probably that_, he reasoned with himself, but he knew better.

He knew that the only reason that he'd been so distracted and seemingly torn away from his routine so much lately was because of a certain intriguing blonde he couldn't seem to get out of his head. Every time he closed his eyes Demyx's face would flash behind his eyelids and he felt as though he had aquamarine eyes burned into his memory. If he tried, he could remember the musky scent of Demyx's cologne perfectly, and he couldn't help but wish that he could be able to smell it again.

He was torn from his musings when the bell above the door to the store sounded and someone shuffled in, struggling to close a black umbrella. Zexion glance out the window in surprise. He hadn't even realized it was raining, no scratch that, _storming_. He couldn't even fathom why anyone would consider going out in this weather.

He turned his attention back to the newcomer and his breath caught in his throat and his heart immediately sped up. It was _him. _He actually came back.

Demyx finally won his battle with the umbrella in his hands and brushed his wet hair away from his forehead. He looked around the store before he caught sight of Zexion sitting comfortably in his chair and shot him a dazzling grin that sent Zexion's heart into an even faster pace than before. Demyx made his way over to the counter and rested his arms on it and leaned forward slightly, still grinning at Zexion in a way that made his heart clench and his stomach flutter with nervousness. He didn't know what to make of it, he'd never felt this way before.

"Hi," Demyx said, lazily drumming his fingers on the counter and looking incredibly content, while Zexion was feeling anything but.

"Hi," he managed to choke out. "Can I, um, help you with anything?"

He internally slapped himself for sounding like such an idiot but Demyx just smiled even wider—if that was even possible—and shrugged.

"Nah, I'm just here to hang out," At Zexion's incredulous look, he quickly added. "If that's alright with you?"

_Of course it's alright with me!_ He wanted to say, but instead he could only choke out, "Why?"

Demyx cocked his head questioningly. "Huh?"

"Why would you want to hang out with me?"

"Because you're interesting." Demyx said. "And besides, I was sick of sitting around my apartment doing nothing, I needed to get out and do something. This was the first thing that came to mind."

Zexion shook his head, confused. "Well I'm hardly interesting to hang out with."

He half expected Demyx to give up, to turn and walk out the door and never come back. But to his surprise, he just laughed.

"I don't think you give yourself enough credit," Demyx said. "You seem interesting enough to me, and you look like you need a friend. I'm perfectly willing to be that friend, kay?"

Zexion stared at the blonde in front of him for a moment, not really believing that this was actually happening. Still, managed to get out a meek "Okay," and found himself blinded by another grin from Demyx, and when the blonde hoisted himself over the counter and jumped down into the space beside him, Zexion found himself unable to hold back a grin of his own.

**HI! I know that I have other things I should be working on and shouldn't even ****_consider _****writing anything new, but this just came to me randomly and I promise it's going to be fairly short. It should only be about two or three chapters, possibly four if it comes to that :D This will probably be updated sooner than my other stuff, since I should actually ****_complete _****something one of these days amirite? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this (I cranked this out in about thirty minutes so I understand if you can't bear to read it xD) and of course, reviews are always welcome! Thanks for reading! The next chapter should be up within a week, and if it's not I give you full permission to hound me haha (I'm gonna regret this...) **

**Ciao! **


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